The present disclosure relates generally to heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and more particularly, to configuration management systems for HVAC systems.
Residential, light commercial, commercial, and industrial systems are used to control temperatures and air quality in buildings. To condition a building, a HVAC system may circulate a refrigerant through a refrigerant circuit between an evaporator where the refrigerant absorbs heat and a condenser where the refrigerant releases heat. The refrigerant flowing within the refrigerant circuit is generally formulated to undergo phase changes within the normal operating temperatures and pressures of the HVAC system so that quantities of heat can be exchanged by virtue of the latent heat of vaporization of the refrigerant to provide conditioned air to the buildings.
In certain instances, a HVAC system may be configured as a heat pump system or an air conditioning system. One main difference between the two configurations relates to whether a reversing valve is included along the refrigerant circuit of the HVAC system. In general, a heat pump system includes the reversing valve, which enables the heat pump system to reverse a flow direction of the refrigerant, relative to a single flow direction of the refrigerant within the air conditioning system. As such, a heat pump system may either heat or cool the building via the circulating refrigerant, depending on the direction of the refrigerant flow. In contrast, an air conditioning system may cool the building via the circulating refrigerant and rely on auxiliary heaters or furnaces to heat the building.
To reduce manufacturing costs, a HVAC manufacturer may design control circuitry, such as a control panel or control board, that can be installed in either a heat pump system or an air conditioning system. For example, the control board may check for the presence of the reversing valve at start-up to determine whether it should control the HVAC system as a heat pump system or an air conditioning system. However, a HVAC system can be installed as a heat pump system and the reversing valve may subsequently fail or be removed. Under such circumstances, upon start-up, the control board may mistakenly determine that it is installed in an air conditioning system and attempt to operate the HVAC system accordingly, potentially damaging the HVAC system or reducing an operating efficiency of the HVAC system.